Chapter 19

Zorro was riding Toronado, meanwhile mumbling and cursing words he didn't even know he knew the meaning. If his destiny was to share his life with Victoria, providence had a cruel sense of humour.
Diego had just closed his eyes before responding to her accusation when gunshots rang out in the plaza outside. And before he opened his eyes, Victoria had slipped past him and ran out the door. The bank was getting robbed by six masked men firing their way out of the pueblo.
Mendoza had been at a loss for a moment. But quickly recovered and started a chase, assisted by Don Emilio and his father.

Don Alejandro had played his part with gusto, urging his son home with orders of sending as many vaqueros as possible to the pueblo to assist the lancers. Meanwhile, complaining loudly that his son was at least doing something useful and not getting in the way. Within half an hour, over thirty men had gathered, and the pursuit got started.
Diego did as he was told and had dutifully ridden to the hacienda. Unsure whether Zorro would come to the rescue.

In the end, he had decided to ride as Zorro and only show himself when necessary.

It didn't take long before the bandits got found. And due to the overwhelming odds, they soon ceased to pose a threat to the men who worked together astonishingly well. The Lancers did most of the work, being mated by the Caballeros forming a front. Satisfied with what he had seen, Zorro hurried home and received not long after a detailed report from his father on how everything had gone.

As soon as Alejandro made sure his son was alright, he started talking about the subject he had not to stop talking over since Diego told his father, a condensed version, of what happened in the garden that night.

"Have you already spoken to Victoria?"

"To be honest, no. It seems like there is never the right opportunity to find."

"Diego, don't you think it's about time!? How much longer do you want to fool that woman?" His father had chosen Victoria, her side and didn't stop on his attempts to pursue his son to reveal his secret.

"I wanted to… today, but then the bank got robbed. And the rest..., you know." Diego tried to explain to his father.

"And when are planning on telling her, tomorrow, next week, TEN YEARS FROM NOW!? She chose Diego, didn't she? What more could you want? Grandchildren, Diego! That is all I say, and now that I know who the lovely woman is who will become their mother, I shall not rest until you slip a ring around her finger!"

Diego wanted to interrupt the endless discussion that it wasn't all as simple as his father thought. He had lied to Victoria for years. Hiding his feelings while his secret identity shamelessly flirted with her. Victoria was a woman you must admire, her temper and decisiveness. On the other hand, it was the same traits he feared now she had given up Zorro. And Zorro no longer needed to confess he was Don Diego. But Diego had to explain to Victoria, he was Zorro and had fooled her. That seemed so much more terrifying. For some reason, Diego had always believed that Victoria would be more forgiving to Zorro than to Don Diego.

"Just, take a deep breath and have it done with. Yes, Victoria will be furious. I will not accept less of her, and quite rightly if you ask me. But the longer you wait, the worse it will get."

Diego knew his father was right, and it wasn't going to be easy. He never expected it to be.
And he couldn't blame Victoria. Now that his main excuse was no longer valid, he had to do with the old, weak excuse, doing it for her safety. His father no longer fooled that easy. Yesterday they had even had a heated discussion that Victoria would have been safer if the wife of don Diego de la Vega than being the sweetheart of the notorious outlaw Zorro.

Tired, after a long afternoon, Alejandro seated himself in the nearest chair and said. "You know what? I'll invite Victoria to lunch on Sunday. And ask Inez to prepare a picnic. That will be your last chance, son. If you can't do it by then, I am to have a slip of the tongue. And, just think how infinitely angrier Victoria will be if she hears it from me."

The bandits turned out to have 100 peso bounty money on their heads each. Surprisingly, it was jointly decided, in honour of Zorro, to donate the money in the poor box of the church. The padre was delighted with all the good he could do for the population as a result. And couldn't help but mention to everyone that he hoped a new tradition had started.

Diego considered his father's words and came to the conclusion that a picnic in a remote area wasn't such a bad idea. Victoria would be free to take her fury out on him without him having to worry about being overheard or some other type of disruption. And since it was already Friday, one day delay would have no additional effect.
Although, for safety reasons, he chose not to have lunch in the tavern that Saturday.

Victoria had accepted the invitation and was on the doorstep around noon.
Handily, Alejandro managed to turn it around so that unforeseen circumstances forced him to spend his day in his office, but alternatively arranged a picnic for his son and guest. The carriage was wheeled out, and soon after, it disappeared out of sight.

Diego took Victoria to a carefully chosen place on a cliff overlooking the ocean.

"We never finished our conversation from Friday." He began as Victoria opened the basket and conjured up a large pitcher filled with lemonade and different kinds of food.

Victoria smiled. "No, for some reason, we seem to have to be interrupted all the time. I am glad those bandits got caught, and it was good to see the dons keep their word and not blindly assume that Zorro will come and solve their problem."

Victoria poured a cup full of lemonade. Afterwards, Diego placed the pitcher out of reach. Most of the food Inez had packed were in a basket or cloth. He wanted to prevent Victoria from throwing the heavy stone item at him in an outburst of anger.

Victoria gave him a strange look, but then she turned her attention to the ocean while asking,"Why did not you tell me?"

This was inconvenient, was Victoria referring to her possible discovery that he was the one who wrote poems. Or was it, she finally discovered he had another secret identity? Diego gave an answer that both could hit. "I was a coward and had no idea how."

"Why did you write me all these poems."

Ah well, this is what it was all about. Once again, Diego granted a stay of execution. "Why? That seems pretty obvious to me. I have feelings for you and wanted to try to win your heart even though I knew I didn't stand a chance."

"You mean because of Zorro?" She glared at him.

Diego stared at the open sky just next to her. Grimly, he said,"Yeah, you're so hopelessly in love with him."

"I have informed Zorro that I am no longer interested in him."

Searching for the right words, Diego looked at her. Victoria blushed and began to chatter without breathing.
"I have come to realize that I need to find my own happily ever after. And I am the one in control of how I live my life. I had sentiments for Zorro. I won't deny it. But they pale into insignificance by the thought that I am squandering my happiness, expecting something that can never be.
My dreams have always been simple. I wanted the tavern to be a success, and it has. I also wanted to marry a man I can love and loves me in return. Not only that, but I want children, boys with eyes bluer than the summer sky, and girls who can stand their ground in this harsh world."

"Victoria, this man? Could it be me?" Diego tried not to sound too hopeful.

"I've made no secret of the fact that Annabella and I aren't the best friends. Her arrival made one thing clear to me.
That is when I thought you were interested in her. All my dreams seemed to turn into nightmares. I despise the mere thought of you ending up with her or any other woman on this planet. That was even before I found out you wrote those poems for me. And when I found out it was you writing? I knew who they were for. Do you think it's possible, Diego? You and me, together? Can we build a relationship? Because I'd like to try."

"I hope so. Victoria, I've been praying for so long you could develop feelings for me. If there are no more secrets between us…, Than yes, then I hope there is a chance for us."

"Diego, do you have any more secrets from me? Besides writing me poems, I mean."

"Yes, there is another great secret that I never dared to tell. For fear of losing your friendship, endangering your life and losing you forever." So close to the reveal, he did not want to find a way out again.

She looked at him suspiciously, "And that big secret, you are going to tell me now?"

"Yes, it's time. No more delays until tomorrow. No excuses that I know are shallow and weak. Yesterday was already too late, just like the day before and the day before."
Diego looked in the infinitely deep dark brown pools of her eyes. His voice began to resist. He had carefully guarded his secret for so long. His throat refused to form the sounds needed to squeeze the words off his lips. "Victoria..." Diego closed his eyes, freeing himself for a moment from her blinding gaze. Maybe it would be easier with eyes closed. Quick and painful, anything that followed would be better than lying on the rack any longer. "Victoria, I am Zorro."

He had succeeded. He had heard the words loud and clear. Diego prayed that when he had found the courage to open his eyes to see only anger on her face and no hatred or, worse, disgust...,

.

.

I know what I did is cruel. But otherwise, the chapter was getting way too long. My plan was to post chapters about 2000 words long. Most of them are longer, so it is a shorty this time. I had to cut somewhere, so it was here.

I promise I put the next chapter will be online soon ;)

The good news being, cutting chapters means the second part is mostly finished.